Delaware: Where winning pageants is a jinx

If you're interested in increasing your chances of becoming involved in a public scandal or some kind of controversy, sign up to compete in a beauty pageant in Delaware.

Statisticians at Crown University in Tiara, Tennessee, crunched some numbers overnight for me and have determined your chances go from 1 in 10,208 to 1 in 128 by competing in a Delaware pageant.

OK. Not really. I made those numbers up.

But based simply on looking at the current controversy with Miss Delaware and past issues with contestants in other pageants, Jerry Springer and Dr. Phil should team up to host a special – "Porn, Pot and Pageants: Delaware's Tales of Turmoil Behind the Tiara."

Here's a quick look at some of those tales, without dredging up the names again.

In the most recent one, Miss Delaware 2014 was stripped of her title this week, less than two weeks after winning it when pageant officials determined she was too old. What? The AARP card she used as proof of residency didn't give it away? My, oh my. I guess a rule is a rule. Her crown, her title, her scholarship money. She's been stripped of it all, adding insult to injury as she deals with the aches and pains of being a 24-year-old.

We've had a Miss Delaware Teen USA winner forced to give up her crown following a sex-tape scandal. She also pleaded guilty to an alcohol possession citation and has gone on to Twitter fame with almost 20,000 followers. By the way, she tweeted her support for the most recently de-titled Miss Delaware, asking people to sign an online petition.

We've had a contestant in the 2012 Miss Delaware USA pageant get arrested for allegedly elbowing a campus police officer at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She then was charged with possession of marijuana after police said they found it when she went to court for a bail review in connection to the disorderly conduct charge.

We've even had complaints of racial bias when a 7-year-old winner of the Little Miss Hispanic Delaware title was stripped of her crown last year. Organizers said it was because she was unable to provide proof of her heritage but critics said it was because she looked too black.

Can we get a little Honey Boo Boo up in here? That's about all we need at this point.